Antioxidants are natural compounds that work to combat oxidative stress that damages cells and leads to disease. You can find antioxidants in fruits and berries, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and legumes.
Spices and herbs are abundant sources of antioxidants, especially flavonoids and phenolic acids. Cloves boast the highest mean antioxidant value among spices and herbs; followed by peppermint, allspice, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, sage rosemary estragon.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Folate-rich leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach and collard greens are packed with antioxidants, making them one of the top cancer-fighting foods. Furthermore, their consumption may help prevent heart disease, high blood pressure and vision impairment.
Beans are another source of antioxidants, boasting red, black, pinto and kidney varieties as good sources of both fiber and iron.
Berries are packed with antioxidants. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and cranberries all rank highly on the Antioxidant Food Table; making them great snacks or additions to smoothies. 100% Pomegranate Juice provides concentrated doses of these anti-oxidant nutrients as well as Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium and Calcium. Brassica vegetable Kale contains Vitamin K calcium folate fiber as well as carotenoids such as Lutein and Zeaxanthin which provide additional protection from DNA damage (Chandrika Basnayake Athukorala Colombagama & Goonetilleke 2010).
Berries
Berries earned top spots in an antioxidant study, with blueberries and cranberries taking the top spots. Both contain beneficial fiber, Vitamin C and antioxidants to tame inflammation.
Research studies have conclusively established that the phenolic compounds found in berries help the body reduce oxidative stress by blocking lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation and increasing antioxidant enzymes (Table 4).
Other fruits and vegetables in the medium range include dates, black and green olives, paprika, red cabbage and plums; however, these foods don’t provide as many antioxidants as berries and cruciferous vegetables do.
Nuts
Nuts such as walnuts, pecans and peanuts are an excellent source of vitamin E – an antioxidative that has numerous health benefits – as well as healthy fats and polyphenols. Choose unsalted roasted nuts for maximum nutritional benefit and to reduce risks such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes as well as reduce oxidative stress1.1
Whilst large observational studies suggest a correlation between nuts intake and lower heart disease risks and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Unfortunately, only a limited number of clinical trials have investigated how nut consumption impacts antioxidant status and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Roasting may reduce polyphenol effectiveness by decreasing their availability; however, roasting improves sensory characteristics such as flavor, aroma and color through Maillard reactions [143]. Try adding whole or toasted nuts as snacks in salads or smoothies; whole nuts provide essential amino acids arginine and Lysine that promote gut health benefits [143].
Spices
Even though berries, red wine, and dark chocolate tend to garner most of the spotlight when it comes to antioxidants, herbs and spices also contain powerful antioxidatives – for instance black pepper contains piperine that can reduce oxidative stress by decreasing blood pressure and improving immune function.
Spices contain phenolic compounds which help prevent the production of malondialdehyde, a toxic byproduct of lipid oxidation which has been linked with heart disease, cancer and accelerated aging. These phenolic compounds help lower levels of malondialdehyde to protect our health against any detrimental health impacts associated with malondialdehyde production.
This study revealed preliminary NRFa11.3 scores which revealed that herbal and spice products, berries, whole grains, red and orange fruits, green leafy vegetables, cocoa powder, nuts and seeds as well as cruciferous veggies had the highest antioxidant contents. Furthermore, cooking may enhance some antioxidant absorption such as cooking arugula or spinach to absorb vitamin K and carotenoids more readily or cooking cranberries/blackberries to make their phenolic compounds more available to our bodies when cooked.
